MELBOURNE: Second-seeded Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka swept past Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova to clinch their maiden Australian Open doubles crown on Friday (Feb 19). The Belgian-Belarusian combination proved too strong for the third-seeded Czech pair, winning 6-2, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena after sealing the match on their fourth championship point. "It's been a tough couple of weeks, so thank you to everyone involved. Glad to have fans back," said Mertens. It was their second Grand Slam success as a